SELSITES Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SINCE the issues involved are similar in the captioned writ petitions, they are disposed of by this common judgment and Special Civil Application No. 3513 of 2015 is treated to be the lead writ petition.

(2.) THE basic issue involved in these writ petitions is, whether any deviation from tender conditions is permissible after floating the tender and after issuing work order, without giving opportunity to all interested persons. The circumstances which have given rise to the filing of these writ petitions in a nutshell are as under: -

(3.) IN the affidavit -in -reply filed on 3.3.2015, respondent No. 4 has inter -alia submitted that the petitioner has no legal or equitable interest in the contract awarded to them as the petitioner had not participated in the tender process. As per the tender document, they were entitled to use 160 sq.ft area for displaying advertisement, i.e. 60 sq.ft. over the roof of bus shelter, 60 sq.ft. on the back glass panel inside the bus shelter and 40 sq.ft. on the side kiosk. However, under the GDCR, no hoardings, billboards, glass panels and kiosks are allowed within 3 meters from the ground level. Thus, instead of 160 sq.ft., they were left with only 60 sq.ft. of space to be utilized over the roof of the bus shelter. Therefore, they requested respondent Nos. 2 & 3 to refund the proportionate amount for the loss of 100 sq.ft. or in the alternative to allow them to place boards of 20 x 8 sq.ft. over the roof of the bus shelter and ultimately they were allowed to place boards of 20 x 6 sq.ft. over the roof of the bus shelter with other additional conditions. Respondent No. 4 has further submitted that under the tender conditions, it is specifically permitted to place the boards in cross angle. It also provides to put up hoardings of larger size of more than 15 ft. Thus, the grievances raised by the petitioner are totally ill -founded and has no merit.